Govt debt payments drop to P29B in Oct
Credit to Author: MAYVELIN U. CARABALLO, TMT| Date: Tue, 25 Dec 2018 16:20:00 +0000
Government debt payments fell in October as substantially lower amortizations offset an increase in interest payments, data from the Bureau of the Treasury showed.
A total of P29.180 billion was paid to creditors during the month, 14.07 percent lower than the P33.958 billion recorded a year earlier.
Amortization expenses fell 61.8 percent to P5.165 billion from P13.524 billion a year ago. Domestic amortization plunged to P726 million from P9.325 billion but foreign amortization increased to P4.439 billion, 5.7 percent higher.
Interest payments, which accounted for the bulk or 82.2 percent of debt payments, rose by 17.5 percent to P24.015 billion. Domestic interest payments, at P17.512 billion, were 18 percent higher while foreign interest payments totalling P6.503 billion also increased by 13.8 percent.
Year to date, government debt payments were up 5.3 percent to P649.718 billion from P616.862 billion a year earlier.
The government’s outstanding debt stood at P7.167 trillion in October, up over P7 billion from a month ago as local borrowings increased.
Economic managers earlier this year approved an increase in foreign debt, revising the 2018 financing program to a 65:35 mix—still in favor of domestic borrowings—from the previous 74:26.
The inter-agency Development Budget Coordination Committee explained that the need for local financing had lessened following a pre-funding exercise last year.
The borrowing mix for next year up to 2022 was set at 75:25 with the government looking to diversify its investor base and tap new markets.
The post Govt debt payments drop to P29B in Oct appeared first on The Manila Times Online.